Thursday, June 6, 2013

Google “selling a home” and you’ll end up with millions of hits with tips, tricks, to-dos and what not to-dos. But if you can see past all the fluff and get right down to the bottom line, you confirm that all you really want as a seller is top dollar and you want it fast.

Frank Del Rio & Associates knows the business of selling homes and we’ve been through it in all types of markets. Buyer-centric markets tend to make it necessary for sellers to pull out all stops while a sellers’ market like we are experiencing these days dictates something else altogether.

Here is our four-point strategy that we think you need to be doing to prepare your house for sale. Nothing else. It doesn’t need to be complicated. It doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Being in the amazing market that we are in right now – you don’t have to do that much!

Bring It Up to Code
Read up online (or ask us) to find out the standard items that home inspectors look for – then go get it done in your house. Make sure the home complies with safety and building code and if not, hire a contractor to get it done. Some things are easily resolved yourself such as replacing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors or ensuring your water heater is properly strapped in place.Let There Be Light (and Air)
One of the first things buyers look for is the flow of a house. Not only does this apply to the floor plan but also in terms of how much light and air flows through the space. The last thing you want to do is to have a buyer walk away because they were unable to see the potential in a home if it wasn’t set up right. Make sure you open windows, highlight open spaces and stage the house so buyers can see all that it has to offer.

Break Out the Broom
Have you ever walked into a dirty or cluttered space and felt good? Of course not! So when you’re selling your home keep buyers’ impressions in mind as walk through the house. Are there piles of stuff lying around everywhere? Make your home inviting and welcoming with the simple step of cleaning it up, making it fresh and allowing buyers to visualize their own lives in the space.

Don’t Go Into Overdrive
One of the biggest mistakes sellers make is to renovate, rebuild and remodel before selling their home. The problem with that is that buyers may or may not like your choices. Rather than the money being recovered in your sale price as you would have wanted, renovating often backfires and turns buyers off. No need for overkill – just sprucing up the place with some simple decorating and staging changes will do the trick. And if there is a serious need for updating – reflect it in the price so buyers can make their own design choices.

~

Aside from the obvious steps to take when preparing your home for sale – the most important thing you can do is to align yourself with a really strong real estate team that will get the job done! Contact us today for a free home value report and for a walk-through with some more suggestions for your home. Remember – Frank gets it done!